BEVERLY HILLS, May 30, (THEWILL) – The deadly blow inflicted on the psyche of the nation by the ill-fated Nigerian Air Force Beechcraft King Air 350i aircraft, which crashed after landing in Kaduna recently, claiming the lives of the late Chief of Army Staff, Lt. General Ibrahim Attahiru and 10 other military officers, will continue to haunt the Nigerian military for quite some time to come.
Apparently rattled and highly embarrassed by the crash, the NAF had mandated the Accident Investigation Bureau Nigeria (AIB-N ) to lead an investigation into the incident.
THEWILL reliably gathered that this is the second time in the history of Nigerian aviation that NAF will be inviting the AIB-N to conduct such an investigation. The first time was in 2012 shortly after the Nigerian Navy Augusta helicopter air crash in Bayelsa State that claimed the lives of six persons, including former Governor Patrick Yakowa of Kaduna State and former National Security Adviser, General Owoye Andrew Azazi.
Although the General Manager, Public Affairs, of AIB-N, Mr Tunji Oketunbi, told THEWILL that AIB-N’s mandate include investigating civil aircraft and that the Bureau cannot investigate military aircraft, except when invited to do so, he, however, explained that the AIB-N was invited by NAF to come in, because of an existing Memorandum of Understanding signed by both parties a few years ago.
Confirming that this is the second time AIB-N would be invited by the military to investigate an accident, Oketunbi said: “You cannot tell how long it will take to investigate any accident. The global standard is about 18 months. But I think, perhaps, this might take at least six months.”
CATALOGUE OF WOES
THEWILL, however, gathered that 11 military plane crashes were recorded in the last six years, killing no fewer than 33 military officers.
Also, THEWILL recalled that the first Nigerian Chief of Army Staff, Colonel Joseph Akahan, was killed in a helicopter crash during the Nigerian civil war that occurred between May 1967 and May 1968.
On December 12, 2012, there was a plane crash involving the former Army Chief of Staff and the National Security Adviser to President Goodluck Jonathan, Lt. General Andrew Azazi. Although AIB was invited to probe this particular air accident, no accident report was made to the general public.
Also, Deputy Inspector-General of Police in charge of federal operations, John Haruna, died alongside three other officers in a police helicopter, which was delivered in December 2011 but crashed into buildings in the Kabong area of Jos, the Plateau State capital, minutes after take-off on March 15, 2012.
Earlier this year, a small passenger plane belonging to the Nigerian Air Force was reported to have crashed after an alleged engine failure while on a mission to rescue 42 released abducted students in Minna. It was reported that all seven persons on board died
Air mishaps recorded between 2015 and 2021 included the one involving a training helicopter, which crashed in the NAF Base in Enugu on November 14, 2019 and another involving an NAF helicopter, which crashed in the process of landing while returning from an anti-banditry combat mission in the North-West Theatre under Operation Hadaran Daji in Katsina State, on June 12, 2019, aas well as a third incident involving an NAF aircraft RV-6A Air Beetle that crashed near Kaduna, killing the pilot, an experienced instructor on August 17, 2019.
NAF SAFETY AUDIT
Worried by the embarrassing record of crashes, the Chief of the Air Staff (CAS), Air Marshal Oladayo Amao, wasted no time in constituting a committee of serving and retired senior officers to conduct a safety audit of all its operational and engineering units. According to a statement issued last Tuesday by the Director of Public Relations and Information, Nigerian Air Force, Air Commodore Edward Gabkwet, the committee is expected to, among other terms of reference, analyse safety reports from operational and engineering units, conduct safety evaluation of NAF units and recommend measures to enhance the safety of operations in the units. The committee will also interact with unit operational and technical personnel for views, observations and contributions on safety measures. Chaired by Air Vice Marshal Abraham Adole, the Deputy Theatre Commander, Operation HADIN KAI, the Committee is to submit its report not later than 18 June 2021.
ANOTHER JAMBOREE
In what appeared to be a coincidence , which, apparently, is also part of their oversight functions, the National Assembly Joint Committee on Defence and Air Force last week embarked on a mission to the United States of America on inspection tour of Embraer Defence Security Incorporated (EDSI) manufacturers of the Nigerian Air Force (NAF) A-29 Super Tucano aircraft. The members of the joint committee were in the USA to assess the status and progress of work on the NAF A-29 Super Tucano aircraft the Federal Government had ordered. During the trip, the NASS team led by Senator Michael Nnachi, was briefed on the progress of work on the NAF A-29 Super Tucano programme and the scheduled date of delivery, by Colonel Authur Ford of the United States Air Force Fighters and Advance Aircraft Directorate.
NAF, AIB-N MoU
Only two years ago, an MoU was signed between AIB-N and NAF on collaboration and support in aircraft accident investigations and other mutually beneficial arrangements. Part of the agreements reached by both parties is that appropriate working relationships, planning, procedures and other beneficial arrangements for collaboration and cooperation are established to improve in cases of accidents or serious incidents.
Among other benefits, the MoU dictates that an exchange of unclassified data and or information should be accomplished in an effective and efficient manner.
According to the provisions of the MoU, training, resources and services should be exchanged between the parties in a mutually-agreed manner.
Where applicable, the agreement indicates that both parties shall access and fully utilise resources and facilities of the other party which, may include, but not limited to classes with training aids, hotels, guest houses, medical personnel, offices, equipment namely, aircraft and special vehicles, such as forklifts, high loaders, graders, ambulances, operational vehicles, etc.
In addition, the MOU was designed in such a manner that it would direct and enhance the parties’ mutual efforts toward initiating and implementing effective plans at the vicinity of aircraft accidents or serious incidents or accessing related facilities and areas that are relevant to the investigation
Even at that, and while the MOU subsists, there was a clear arrangement to avoid or minimise duplication of efforts and to ensure that coordination between the parties and with other stakeholders is facilitated.
WORRISOME SPATE OF CRASHES
In recent times, air accidents involving military planes have been on the increase. Most recent is the air accident involving the Chief of Army Staff, Lt General Ibrahim Attahiru, on May 21, 2021. The army chief had set out to Kaduna to attend the graduation ceremony of the Nigerian Army Depot in Zaria slated for 22 May, 2021. Late Attahiru was on the official trip with some officers and the crew members. The officials include: Brig General Abdulkadir, Chief of Staff to Army Chief, Brig Gen Olayinka, Acting Provost Marshal, Nigerian Army, Brig Gen Kuliya, Acting Chief of Military Intelligence, Man La Hayat, ADC to COAS, Maj Hamza, Chief Security Officer (CSO) to COAS and Sgt Umar, Orderly to COAS
Aircraft Crew involved in the crash were: Flt Lt To Asaniyi, pilot, Flt Lt AA Olufade, co-pilot, Sgt Adesina and ACM Oyedepo.
Official records put the figure of military officers who have lost their lives at 20 in three crashes that occurred in the last three months.
THEWILL recalls that, on Sunday, February 21, 2021, seven NAF officers died aboard a Beechcraft KingAir B350i aircraft when the jet crashed in Abuja.
The jet, en-route Minna in Niger State, crashed close to the runway of the Abuja airport after reporting engine failure.
Also, on Wednesday, March 31, 2021, NAF spokesman, Air Commodore Gabkwet, announced that an Alpha-Jet aircraft involved in the anti-terror war against Boko Haram and Islamic State West Africa Province lost radar contact in Borno State.Two officers were aboard the missing jet which was later declared crashed.
AIB-N’s INVOLVEMENT
In line with an earlier MoU signed in 2020, coupled with the successes the Bureau has recorded over the past years, the Nigerian Air Force mandated the AIB -N to lead the investigation into the crash of the military aircraft in Kaduna.
According to a statement issued earlier by AIB and signed by its General Manager, Public Affairs, Mr Tunji Oketunbi, the Flight Data Recorder (FDR) and the Cockpit Voice Recorder (CVR) from the Beechcraft 350 aircraft have been recovered and investigation has commenced.
Oketunbi stated that investigators will download and analyse vital information contained in the recorders at the AIB-N’s world class Flight Safety Laboratory, in Abuja.
He said: “The mandate given to AIB-N is based on the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) signed between the two agencies on July 1, 2020 covering areas of mutual assistance.”
BUREAU’s ANTECEDENTS
In the past, accident investigations were conducted by the Civil Aviation Department of the Ministry of Aviation. The CAD also handled Airworthiness Certification in addition to its investigative functions.
These functions were separated to comply with ICAO Annex 8 (Airworthiness of Aircraft) and Annex 13 (Aircraft Accident and Incident Investigation) to avoid issues with objectivity. In 1989, the Federal Civil Aviation Authority (FCAA) was created and the Civil Aviation Department became the Department of Safety Services within the new FCAA and a new investigative department, Accident Investigation Bureau (AIB), was created under the Federal Ministry of Aviation.
The Nigerian Civil Aviation Policy of 2001 recommended the creation of a financially independent Accident Investigation and Prevention Bureau, which shall operate as an Agency to guarantee expeditious response and movement of air safety investigators to accident sites. The policy also states that the Bureau shall be responsible for the investigation of aircraft accidents, serious incidents and the publication of investigation reports.
The Civil Aviation Act, 2006, Section 29 is the primary law that established the Accident Investigation Bureau as an autonomous agency that reports to the President of the Federation through the Honourable Minister of Aviation. The Bureau is headed by a Commissioner who is also the Chief Executive Officer.
However, the current Commissioner and Chief Executive Officer of Accident Investigation Bureau (AIB), Engr Akin Olateru, has turned around the fortune of the hitherto obscure bureau and made it one of the most competitive agencies not just in Nigeria, but in the global aviation industry.
When Engr Olateru came on board in 2017, he expressed dismay at the late release of accident reports by the bureau that was set up in 2007 primarily to investigate any civil aircraft accident and serious incident arising out of, or in the course of air navigation occurring either in or over Nigeria or occurring to Nigerian aircrafts.
The Bureau under the leadership of Engr Olateru has released more reports than it has done since it was established in 2007.
The Bureau has also formed massive symbiotic relationships and collaborated with organisations that matter most in the sector and beyond – the United States’ Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), National Transport Safety Board, the independent US government investigative agency responsible for civil transport accident investigation, Air Accidents Investigation Branch of the United Kingdom, Bureau d’Enquêtes et d’Analyses pour la sécurité de l’aviation civile (BEA- France), University of Ilorin, University of Lagos, Transport Safety Investigation Bureau (TSIB) from Singapore and the Banjul Accord Group Accident Investigation Agency (BAGAIA), an arm of the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO), to mention just a few.
STAKEHOLDERS’ VIEWS
Commenting on the development, former military commandant at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos, Group Capt John Ojikutu, affirmed that the issue is a military affair.
Group Captain Ojikutu informed that there are NAF standard operational procedures just as there are Civil Aviation Regulations (CARs), adding,” I am told the AIB has been called because of its capability to assist, based on existing MOU with NAF and it stops there not for the public.”
Ojikutu, a security consultant and CEO at Centurion Security and Safety Consult, said: “The noise on the aircraft may not necessarily be because of the number of crashes within a short period but more about the insecurity in the country that has divided us in many ways. It reminds me of the crash of the C-130 in 1992 and about 90 officers died in the crash.”
Explaining further, the aviation security expert added: “The investigation of the NAF aircraft by AIB is being done within an MOU between them which cannot be made public, except the derived safety recommendations about the supporting landing aids deficiencies at the Kaduna civil airport, which can be sent to the NCAA. Any other information about the crew and the aircraft would be forwarded to NAF only and cannot be shared to anyone.”
He, however, noted,”If there is an operator outside Nigeria, for example, Ghana, that has a similar MOU with our AIB, the reports of any such accident or serious incident would not be shared with the NCAA except the NCAA asks directly from the outside operator.”
Ojikutu, however, maintained that the AIB has no authority or responsibilities over military aircraft because they are not regulated by the Nig CARs, insisting that they are registered NAF not NG.
He pointed out that there are NAF Standard Operatin g Procedures (SOPs) as there are CARs, noting that Nigeria had about nine accidents of aircraft of NAF in 12 years and two successively in two years.
Corroborating Ojikutu, the Secretary-General of the Association of Nigerian Aviation Professionals (ANAP), Comrade Abdulrasaq Saidu, said the AIB had no business investigating military aircraft.
Comrade Saidu said, “I don’t think the AIB has that power unless the military or Federal Government directs them to carry out an investigation.
LAST LINE
Accident Investigation is not to apportion blames or to prosecute any party. Rather, it is done for correctional purposes through recommendations by the investigating agency. There is no doubt that the coming of AIB-N to lead the investigation into the military plane crash, will assist in addressing the frequency of incidents and accidents as it concerns the military.
However, experts have opined that the best method of curtailing aircraft accidents is to follow laid down rules; the maintenance regimes of the aircraft as per manufacturers standards, directives on airworthiness by the NCAA training and drills by the flight crew. Other measures are sticking to Safety Management Systems adopted by the airlines or the Nigeria Air Force, as to flight operations, engineering and maintenance, medical and health checks on flight crew, etc.
About the Author
Anthony Awunor, is a business correspondent who holds a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Linguistics (UNILAG). He is also an alumnus of the Nigerian College of Aviation Technology (NCAT), Zaria Kaduna State. He lives in Lagos.
